Three words
by Ems4179
Summary: ...that was all it took to change Squall's life...just three words and nothing could be the same again. Drabble, sadness, death mentionedhinted at. Probably could go into a lower rating but I didn't wanna take the chance of offending someone


**Disclaimer:** I don't own Squall, Seifer or indeed Final Fantasy nor it's creators. Shame! Mitch Albom and his book also have nothing to do with me.

**A/N:** Hmm…this sprung into my mind, as I read a title of a book. (For One More Day – Mitch Albom) Weird how my mind works, isn't it?

Weird isn't it? How three little words can turn your life around? Can make everything you've done before and after that moment seem irrelevant and pointless – futile even… Three little words that I never expected to hear from him. Truthfully, he was the last person in the world I thought capable of such sentiment. Especially to me – 'his ultimate adversary'!

It was a moment in time that destroyed me, changed me forever…and as with most moments like it, it came too late for me to do anything about it. Why is life always like that? Forgive me for thinking it, or don't – that's your prerogative - but life sucks…

Do I regret anything in my life? If you've read this so far then you already know the answer to that is a resounding YES! Sure, everyone regrets something in their life, I guess but I have only one big regret in my life – and it's NOT like a lot of people would expect, that I left Garden or that Rinoa left me. They're minor things in comparison and I believe that they were meant to be. I don't feel that they were wrong. My biggest regret has always been Seifer – from the moment those three words left his mouth, my life changed irrevocably. HOW was I supposed to continue knowing that after saying those words, I didn't have the chance to return them because time had run out?

An investigation that I insisted upon, showed later that, up until the moment of his execution, Seifer was beaten daily, denied basic human rights and treated like something lower than low. Yet, the man I watched on screen walking to meet his maker still carried a small measure of pride that I thought of as pure Seifer Almasy. When he was asked if he had any last words, most expected a vitriolic rant against Garden, SeeD and anyone else but, in the end, he spoke only three words. He didn't beg for forgiveness, didn't apologise for his part in something he didn't remember. His last words were to me and me alone.

Maybe if I'd done something before then – even if it was only to visit him, the guilt that descended when I watched Seifer take his last breath wouldn't have destroyed me so utterly, maybe his words wouldn't have sliced straight through me, tearing my heart apart... Maybe! Maybes and what ifs are the biggest wastes of life – I know this and yet, these thoughts fill my waking day. Stop me from getting any sleep. Though that's maybe not a bad thing. My dreams are worse – filled with the sounds of Seifer's screams…

The treatment that Seifer suffered was the direct cause for my leaving Garden – how could I stay somewhere that not only condoned it but also kept me in the dark by signing papers on my behalf – he must have gone to his execution thinking I'd hated him enough to want him dead. Yet, I never had. I was angry, yes but hate? No. I could never have hated Seifer though I DID hate his actions. Rinoa left me when I left Garden. Apparently she felt that only a man in the roll of Commander was suitable for a Sorceress of her skills and beauty – her words not mine – Can't say I blame her for that. After all, I became a shell of a man. Not sure who she found to take my place though.

We were halfway across the world when my secretary casually switched on the T.V. – just in time for me to watch his execution! Why did no one tell me? WHY? After everything I'd done for Garden, for the world, didn't I have the right to know? They waited until I was too far away to do anything – just in case I got a conscience. Even then, they weren't taking any chances. The first worldwide broadcast, the death of the Sorceress' Knight – the first for twenty years – was shown only after his death. No, they weren't taking the chance.

A later investigation revealed proof that had been kept hidden – proof that would have cleared Seifer completely of all charges that would have exonerated him. He had no memory, no control over his actions. He'd told them that time and time again, no one wanted to hear…

Which is why tonight, by the time you read this, I'll be dead. My final apology to him for failing to hear him when he needed me. Forgive me, Seifer. Maybe I'll see you again, maybe not. Your last words changed my life I'm just sorry they couldn't save yours…

Three words…

"_I'm sorry, Squall."_


End file.
